Institute welcomes NSW government’s ‘belated’ building safety reforms

The Australian Institute of Architects has welcomed the New South Wales government’s release of a discussion paper aimed at progressing reforms to the building and construction sector, labelling it a “belated but sensible step to maintain safety and public confidence.”

The release of the Building Stronger Foundations paper comes after a number of high profile cases of major construction faults causing buildings to be evacuated, such as at Opal Tower and Mascot Towers. It also follows a study by Deakin University’s Nicole Johnston and Griffith University’s Sacha Reid that found that 97 percent of buildings in NSW had at least one defect, and that the average number of types of defects was 16.

The Institute’s immediate past president, Clare Cousins, said the Berejiklian Government’s Building Stronger Foundations discussion paper’s mooted requirement for the registration of builders, designers and engineers – in addition to the existing requirements for architects – was long-awaited and important.

“The Institute has been calling for full registration of people across the building industry for many years,” she said.

“We are pleased the NSW Government is finally making steps to action this measure. Now it is time for all other Australian states and territories to implement these protocols, and the full set of recommendations of last year’s Shergold Weir report into building safety.”

The Building Stronger Foundations discussion paper proposes an industry-wide common law duty of care to owners and bodies corporate, and would also create a regulatory system where builders and others could face deregistration if found to be negligent.

It also proposes mandated builder declarations of compliance with the Building Code of Australia, and a new building commissioner to oversee regulations.

“These vital safety measures must be implemented as soon as possible,” said Cousins. “After the recent issues we have seen with Mascot Towers and other incidents, the public needs to know there is a robust and nationally consistent system in place to ensure safety for people and their investments.”

The Institute also welcomed developments in other states, noting that there had been a greater implementation of reccomendations arising from the Building Ministers’ Forum for jurisdictions to create minimum controls to reduce conflicts of interest and increase transparency between builders and surveyors, with complete implementation in NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania.

But Cousins said more action is needed across jurisdictions for approved documentation to be prepared by registered practitioners, in accordance with the National Construction Code, which needs to be implemented in all states except Tasmania.

“Australia’s vital building-safety system needs to be consistent across the entire country,” she said. “All practitioners, be they architects, builders, certifiers, surveyors, developers or engineers, must be held accountable for the work they complete. Without surety on this our communities will pay the price.

“While we applaud the work done to date, work is still lagging on a national level. All Australians deserve to have confidence in their buildings regardless of where they live, work and play around the country.”

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